Jams McMillan and Sadia Ashraf

Source: Lisa Miller, Umer Mushir

James McMillan, Sadia Ashraf

Production on a feature film adaptation of Soniah Kamal’s novel Unmarriageable is scheduled to begin in Pakistan in 2025.

US outfits Travelling Picture Show Company (TPSC) and Rising Tides have partnered with Pakistan’s Hum Network on the production.

Sadia Ashraf wrote the script and will direct alongside James McMillan, whose credits as a cinematographer include Avengers: Endgame and A Quiet Place: Part One. It marks a rare Western production to film entirely in Pakistan. 

Unmarriageable is produced by Carissa Buffel and Luisa Iskin from TPSC and Sadia Ashraf and Shahla Khan from Rising Tides. Executive producers are Sultana Siddiqui and Badar Ikram from Hum Network alongside author Kamal. 

The novel is a literary adaptation of Pride And Prejudice and transposes the themes of Jane Austen’s novel to modern-day Pakistan following the Binat family, whose five daughters navigate modern life while dealing with the complexities of South Asian courtship.

TPSC’s credits include Sony’s Freud’s Last Session, Universal’s A Walk Among The Tombstones and A24’s The Blackcoat’s Daughter.

Founded by Ashraf, Rising Tides Films focuses on female-driven narratives and untold diverse stories. The company recently launched animated short Tomorrow and is developing around 20 film and television projects from cultures typically underrepresented on screen.

Hum Network is Pakistan’s female-led 24-hour entertainment TV channel founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. HumTV has produced hundreds of TV series with 700 hours of original programming annually for the last 18 years.

 

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